States sue to close locks, stop Asian carp

Five Great Lakes states filed a lawsuit in federal court Monday aimed at trying to block Asian carp from entering Lake Michigan, the third attempt through the court system to seek the closing of Chicago-area shipping locks.

The suit - brought by Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota and Pennsylvania - charges the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago with failing to stop movement of the feared invasive species toward the Great Lakes, The Chicago Tribune reports.

It asks the court to close shipping locks temporarily in the Calumet-Sag Channel and the Chicago River while other control methods can be put in place.

In addition to lock closings, the suit calls for the use of nets, physical barriers and fish toxins to control carp movement. It also urges the Army Corps to complete a study looking at severing the Chicago-area shipping corridor that connects Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River watershed within 18 months.